MOSCOW, 16 Aug — In winter, gas prices in Europe can break through the bar of four thousand dollars per thousand cubic meters, predicted Gazprom on the Telegram channel.
The company noted that now gas is traded above 2.5 thousand dollars on European spot exchanges.
“According to conservative estimates, if the trend continues, prices will exceed $4,000 per 1,000 cubic meters in winter,” Gazprom said.
Last week, gas futures traded near 2.1 thousand dollars and gradually grew, and at the beginning of this jumped sharply to 2.45 thousand. At the same time, according to the Association of Gas Infrastructure Operators of Europe, as of August 14, stocks in European underground storage facilities were replenished by 48.6 billion cubic meters, and in general, UGS facilities were filled by 74.73 percent.
“In order to reach the UGS occupancy level at the beginning of the 2019/2020 withdrawal season, companies will have to pump another 23.8 billion cubic meters,” Gazprom said.
The European market faced a gas collapse last year. Experts attributed it to limited supply from major suppliers, low underground storage occupancy levels, and high demand for liquefied natural gas in Asia.
Now Europe continues to be under pressure due to the ongoing tension with Russian exports. And in recent days, the situation has been affected by the hot weather that has settled in the region, due to which the generation of electricity by alternative sources is reduced.